Coastal Flood Advisory Issued for Long Island as Nor'easter Approaches

Although the nor’easter slated to touch down on the evening of Monday, March 13, is forecast to comprise “mostly rain” on Long Island, Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to declare a state of emergency for upstate regions that could get slammed with up to 2 feet of snow from Monday night through Wednesday.

Widespread areas of the Capital Region, Central New York, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley and North Country are in line for the 24 inches, with Western New York and Finger Lakes regions possibly seeing 8 inches or more of snow by Wednesday. For these regions, heavy, wet snow will begin Monday night and gusty winds up to 45 mph on Tuesday will increase the chances of power outages and related impacts, Hochul said in a release.

Locally, officials are looking at some snow — possibly 2 inches — but mostly rain, she said, which could cause flooding. A coastal flood advisory has been issued for Long Island through Tuesday morning.

“State agencies spent the weekend preparing emergency response assets, my team is in constant contact with local officials, and we have activated the National Guard to assist with emergency response,” she said in the release. “This storm will create hazardous road conditions through Wednesday morning, and I encourage New Yorkers in impacted regions to stay home and avoid any unnecessary travel to allow plow crews to do their job.”

PSEG also announced that it’s preparing its storm response, with concern about wind gusts pulling down tree branches and wires, resulting in service outages.

Said Michael Sullivan, the vice president of transmission and distribution at PSEG Long Island: “The forecast for our area is not as severe as the areas north of us. However, in the event of any outages, our crews will work to safely restore service as quickly as conditions will allow.”